In this week’s wrapup, we discuss why the Chinese government is paying people to shop, how venture backed startups are reshaping the traditional defence business model, whether India’s rising outward FDI is a cause for concern, what’s happening with Nvidia, and how companies in India’s tyre industry are trying to protect their shrinking profit margins.

Why is China paying its people to shop?

China is practically begging people to go shopping. For context, it’s offering subsidies to encourage people to spend on things like smartphones, electric cars, and more. But why does the world’s manufacturing powerhouse want to persuade its own citizens to buy more?

The answer goes back to pandemic scars that bruised the property market, as well as current job worries and an ageing population. Together, all these have been making Chinese households wary of spending. Which is why China has a very low consumption to GDP ratio as compared to other major economies.

But can shopping discounts turn things around?

Read Monday’s newsletter to find out.

How startups are rewriting the defence industry

For decades, governments paid for every weapon and owned every blueprint. Now, defence-tech firms like SpaceX, Palantir and Anduril raise private money, keep their designs, and rent their tech to militaries, much like a software subscription.

India is riding the same wave. Defence-tech startup funding has more than doubled to $282.5 million in 2025. The government has even come up with a new procurement policy promising startups pilot orders and five years of guaranteed contracts.

Sounds efficient, right?

But there’s a catch. Renting means someone else runs the network and it comes with its own consequences. For example, when satellite links in Ukraine stopped working above 100 mph, a single software tweak disrupted an active air defence system overnight.

So should governments outsource defence tech to private players?

Read the full story here.

Should India worry about money flowing overseas?

Indian companies are increasingly investing their money overseas. The gap between foreign money coming into India and Indian money going abroad is shrinking as outward foreign direct investment (FDI) is hitting record highs. So is this a warning sign for India?

Well, not quite. These abroad-investing companies are expanding overseas to access new markets and acquire valuable technology. This can even create jobs, research, and export opportunities back home. But there’s also a flip side.

So, in Wednesday’s story we explored whether Indian companies taking their money abroad could eventually make the Indian economy stronger or not. You can read it here.

What happens to the AI industry if Nvidia falters

For 33 years, Jensen Huang has been the face of Nvidia. But on November 12th, he stepped down as CEO.

His resignation followed reports linking him to Alice Huang, a businesswoman allegedly connected to Chinese intelligence. 

Huang spent over three decades building the company, with much of its leadership and decision-making centered around him. So naturally, after this, Nvidia's shares have fallen around 30% from their October peak, wiping out more than $1.5 trillion off its market value. 

So what happens to Nvidia without him? And if a crisis at Nvidia can shake the entire AI boom, has the industry become too dependent on a handful of companies to absorb the shock?

Read our full story to find out.

Can tyre makers keep rising costs from puncturing their profits?

India's tyre companies are selling more tyres than ever and reporting record revenues. Yet their profits are falling.

The problem is a rather expensive mix of rising raw material costs, particularly rubber and crude oil. And with India relying on imports to meet its rubber needs, a weaker rupee is making things even more expensive.

Tyre makers also can't simply pass on these costs to customers as long-term contracts with vehicle manufacturers and the risk of losing customers make price hikes tricky.

So how are tyre companies dealing with rising costs and trying to protect their profit margins?

We broke that down in yesterday’s Markets edition here.

Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 🧠

Hey folks! As you probably already know, the Finshots Weekly Quiz has a new avatar. If you missed out on it in the last couple of months, don’t worry. Click here to check out the rules and set a reminder to participate consistently starting next month!

But for now, it’s time to announce the top scorers of our previous weekly quiz. There were a whole bunch of you who participated, and many of you ended up with the same scores. So we’re calling you Bulls, Bears, Unicorns, Blue Chips, and Rising Stars. Here’s how the leaderboard looks right now:

If your name has been featured on the leaderboard, then congratulations! If not, don’t lose hope. If you attempted last week’s quiz, keep at it and answer all the weekly quizzes this month. You never know when the turntables! Click on this link to take this week’s quiz, which is open till 12 noon, Friday, 20th of November, 2026. The more answers you get right, the better your chances of appearing on the Finshots Weekly Quiz leaderboard. We’ll publish it every Saturday in the Weekly Wrapup. And the winner will be announced in the first week of December.

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